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Platydemus manokwari (flatworm)

 

 

Taxonomic name: Platydemus manokwari

Synonyms:

Common names: Flachwurm (German), flatworm (English)

Life form: flatworm

 

A predatory species of flatworm that has been intentionally and

unofficially introduced to many islands throughout the Pacific and

Indian Oceans as a biological control agent for the giant African

snail (Achatina fulica). It now poses a serious threat to native

gastropod faunas, including rare, endemic snail species.

 

Description

A worm. Uniform exterior appearance. Adult length 40-65 mm,

width 4-7 mm. Head end more pointed than tail end. Flattened cross

section with thickness less than 2 mm. Color of dorsal surface very

dark brown, almost black, with a thin medial pale line. Color of

ventral surface pale gray. (de Beauchamp, 1963).

 

Occurs in:

agricultural areas, coastland, disturbed areas, natural forests,

planted forests, riparian zones, scrub/shrublands, urban areas, wetlands

 

Habitat description

Generally found in leaf litter in both undisturbed forest and

habitats heavily modified by humans. For example, found in leaf litter

in high-altitude (>675 m) cloud forest on the island of Pohnpei in

Micronesia (Eldredge and Smith, 1995).

 

General impacts

P. manokwari poses a serious threat to native snails in the

locations where it has been introduced. It is supposedly an effective

gastropod predator, and is held responsible for the decline of many

native snail populations (Eldredge and Smith, 1994, 1995), for

instance on Guam, where it is endangering the endemic Partulidae, as

well as ground-dwelling endemic snails (Eldredge and Smith, 1994,

1995; Hopper and Smith, 1992).

 

Uses

Introduced to several islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

for biological control of the giant African snail (Achatina fulica),

for example Samoa and Vanuatu (UN FAO, 2002). Considered to be

effective at this task on Bugsuk Island in the Philippines (Muniappan

et al., 1986), in the Maldives (Muniappan, 1987) and on Guam

(Muniappan, 1990).

 

Geographical range

Native range: New Guinea.

Known introduced range: Guam, Hawai`i, Philippines, Northern

Mariana Islands, Australia, Palau, Japan, Maldives, Tonga and Vanuatu.

 

Invasion pathways to new locations

Biological control: Introductions are mostly deliberate but

mostly unofficial and illegal.

 

Management information

 

Nutrition

A predatory species, known to feed on land snails.

 

Reproduction

Hermphroditic, probably cross-fertilizing.

 

Lifecycle stages

 

This species has been nominated as among 100 of the " World's

Worst " invaders

 

Complied by: Dr. Robert H. Cowie, Center for Conservation

Research and Training, University of Hawaii & Invasive Species

Specialist Group (ISSG)

 

Reviewed by: Dr. Robert H. Cowie Center for Conservation

Research and Training

 

Principal sources: Barnes, 1968. de Beauchamp, 1963. Eldredge

and Smith, 1994, 1995. Hopper and Smith, 1992. Muniappan, 1987, 1990.

Muniappan et al., 1986.

 

Last Modified: Saturday, June 25, 2005

 

The Global Invasive Species Database is managed by the Invasive

Species Specialist Group (ISSG) of the IUCN Species Survival

Commission. It was developed as part of the global initiative on

invasive species led by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP)

and is supported through partnerships with the National Biological

Information Infrastructure, Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research and the

University of Auckland.